Injured pelican recovering after surgery

Marisa O’Neil

An endangered brown pelican is recovering today from surgery to

repair a throat pouch that may have been intentionally slit.

The roughly 3-year-old female pelican underwent a two-hour surgery

Thursday afternoon at All Creatures Care Cottage in Costa Mesa to fix

the gaping wound. The ear-to-ear slit, which almost completely

removed the pouch from the bird’s beak, was too large and too clean

to have come from a fishing hook or an accident, said Debbie McGuire

of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach.

It was the second pelican in a week to come to the center with a

slit pouch.

The center is offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to

the arrest and prosecution of anyone who mutilated the pelican.

Volunteers at the center got together $500 and two donors brought

the total to $1,500.

They are hoping that the reward offer will help catch whoever hurt

the pelicans or at least prevent any future incidents.

“Whoever’s out there doing this, if they want to do it again, we

want them to know we’re looking for them,” McGuire said.

Animal cruelty is a felony in California, and harming endangered

animals is a federal offense. Violators could face a year in jail and

a $100,000 fine.

The pelican was found Sunday walking near the intersection of

Beach Boulevard and Garfield Avenue in Huntington Beach, care center

volunteer Pam Primm said. Animal control officers caught the bird and

brought it to the center.

The pelican was malnourished because it couldn’t eat with the torn

pouch, Primm said.

“I was this close to crying when I saw her like that,” Primm said.

A week earlier, a female brown pelican was found in Newport Beach

with a slit pouch. That time, the slit ran vertically and damaged the

beak, McGuire said.

It died days later of its injuries.

It isn’t clear if the pelicans were mutilated by the same person,

McGuire said.

A similar series of violent acts against about 20 pelicans took

place in San Pedro in 2002 and 2003, she said.

“I’ve had nightmares about this, wondering what happened,” she

said of the most recent mutilations.

Thursday’s surgery went well, and the pelican is back at the

Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center recovering, McGuire said.

The pelican will be monitored closely and hand fed while it

recuperates, she said. They should know within about two weeks if the

procedure was successful or if more surgery is needed.

Pelicans’ neck-flaps need to be strong enough to sustain 35 mph

impacts into ocean water, McGuire said.

“It’s not guaranteed that will work,” Primm said of the surgery.

“But she’s at least got a chance.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil @latimes.com.